Nature-ral High

November 9, 2017

Okay, it's been a while since my blog had activity. As most you may have know I had twins last year and it took a lot of toll of my time specially allotting some spare moment into writing. And after losing one of the twin, it took my life into oblivion. Anyway, back to my latest entry. Being very busy the past months, I can only afford to do dayhikes (or daytrips to some). With hiking booming like mushrooms here in the PI, the near mountains in Manila are crowded during the weekends. We were trying very much to find alternatives. Luckily, we were able to find a mountain in Laguna which is relatively not so high and is beside a lake. The mountain is Mt. Mabilog whichs is situated beside lake Pandin. The hike is quite short and easy. You would only need an hour to reach the summit, yet the view is mesmerizing. You can see Mt. Kalisungan, Mt Cristobal-Banahaw from a distance. Looking down you can see the twin Lakes of Pandin and Yambo. We were the only hikers that day and I think this mountain is good to bring people who are new to the mountains. But the biggest bonus is lake Pandin. You can hire a raft for a few hundred pesos and go to the middle of the lake. The lake is very clean and very nice for swimming. If you had a lot of time, you can even cook or grill in the middle of the raft.

The trail

The trail are mostly covered with trees and lush greens

Lake Pandin and Mt Banahaw seen from the trail

A clearer view of Mt Banahaw

Lake Pandin , the crater beside it is lake Yambo

A closer look at the 2 lakes

Of course, a climb would not be complete without my signature headstand at the summit

We luckily saw a Mantis at the summit.

Group pic with the guides

Another group pic

Lake Pandin, albeit also the trail head

We hired a raft and went into the middle of the lake. Here is where we had our lunch

We also ventured for a while to lake Yambo. Pandin is much clearer but is smaller

Ahh so nice to have a dip!

There are a few fish cages with tilapia. This is the first time I saw red tilapia, specially alive.